UN Panel Finds Alaa Abd el-Fattah's Detention in Egypt to Be Illegal
An independent investigation by a UN working group concludes that the British-Egyptian activist is being unlawfully held, amid heightened calls for his release.
Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British-Egyptian human rights activist and writer, is being illegally detained by the Egyptian government, according to findings from an independent United Nations panel following an 18-month investigation.
Abd el-Fattah is currently held in a Cairo prison, while his mother, Laila Soueif, has embarked on a hunger strike in the UK, marking the 241st day of her protest.
Soueif, who has reportedly lost half of her body weight, holds a daily vigil outside Downing Street to raise awareness of her son's plight.
Recently, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called upon Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to demonstrate clemency, stating that the Egyptian government's actions are causing significant distress to the family.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention submitted its report directly to Abd el-Fattah's family, urging the Egyptian authorities to address the situation without delay.
The panel recommended that Abd el-Fattah be released immediately and provided with compensation and reparations in accordance with international law.
In an atypical move, the Egyptian government presented a full defense of its actions to the UN panel.
The UN group criticized the justice standards in Egypt, pointing to the suppression of free speech.
The panel concluded that Abd el-Fattah's continued imprisonment is arbitrary and illegal, citing the lack of an arrest warrant and absence of clear reasoning or allegations at the time of his arrest.
It established that his arrest was directly related to his exercise of freedom of expression and that he was not granted a fair trial, having been detained based on his political beliefs.
Abd el-Fattah was arrested in September 2019 and subsequently sentenced to five years in prison in December 2021 for spreading false news that allegedly harmed Egypt's national interest.
This accusation was tied to a Facebook post he shared regarding the death of a fellow inmate.
Can Yeğinsu, Abd el-Fattah’s legal representative in the UK, emphasized the UN working group's determination that his detention is arbitrary and violates international law, asserting that Egypt has an obligation to release him immediately.
Richard Ratcliffe, husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen held in Iran, acknowledged the UN ruling as a moment of clarity regarding the injustice faced by those detained arbitrarily, stating that the ruling should catalyze action from the UK government.
Omar Robert Hamilton, Abd el-Fattah’s cousin, has called for the UK to pursue an international court case against Egypt due to the unlawful detention.
The UN report criticized the use of vague legal terms such as ‘dissemination of false information,’ which it stated contravene international free expression standards.
Additionally, it condemned the practice of ‘rotation sentencing,’ whereby prosecutorial charges are modified to circumvent accounting for pre-trial custody time in overall sentences, describing it as potentially amounting to a crime against humanity.
Abd el-Fattah is currently held in a Cairo prison, while his mother, Laila Soueif, has embarked on a hunger strike in the UK, marking the 241st day of her protest.
Soueif, who has reportedly lost half of her body weight, holds a daily vigil outside Downing Street to raise awareness of her son's plight.
Recently, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called upon Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to demonstrate clemency, stating that the Egyptian government's actions are causing significant distress to the family.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention submitted its report directly to Abd el-Fattah's family, urging the Egyptian authorities to address the situation without delay.
The panel recommended that Abd el-Fattah be released immediately and provided with compensation and reparations in accordance with international law.
In an atypical move, the Egyptian government presented a full defense of its actions to the UN panel.
The UN group criticized the justice standards in Egypt, pointing to the suppression of free speech.
The panel concluded that Abd el-Fattah's continued imprisonment is arbitrary and illegal, citing the lack of an arrest warrant and absence of clear reasoning or allegations at the time of his arrest.
It established that his arrest was directly related to his exercise of freedom of expression and that he was not granted a fair trial, having been detained based on his political beliefs.
Abd el-Fattah was arrested in September 2019 and subsequently sentenced to five years in prison in December 2021 for spreading false news that allegedly harmed Egypt's national interest.
This accusation was tied to a Facebook post he shared regarding the death of a fellow inmate.
Can Yeğinsu, Abd el-Fattah’s legal representative in the UK, emphasized the UN working group's determination that his detention is arbitrary and violates international law, asserting that Egypt has an obligation to release him immediately.
Richard Ratcliffe, husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen held in Iran, acknowledged the UN ruling as a moment of clarity regarding the injustice faced by those detained arbitrarily, stating that the ruling should catalyze action from the UK government.
Omar Robert Hamilton, Abd el-Fattah’s cousin, has called for the UK to pursue an international court case against Egypt due to the unlawful detention.
The UN report criticized the use of vague legal terms such as ‘dissemination of false information,’ which it stated contravene international free expression standards.
Additionally, it condemned the practice of ‘rotation sentencing,’ whereby prosecutorial charges are modified to circumvent accounting for pre-trial custody time in overall sentences, describing it as potentially amounting to a crime against humanity.
